Canyonlands Regional Airport Taxiway A & Commercial Aircraft Parking Apron Reconstruction

Canyonlands Regional Airport (CNY) recently underwent an Airport Reference Code update for Runway 3/21, upgrading the runway from a B-II to a C-II facility. This upgrade was primarily aimed at restoring commercial air service to CNY following SkyWest’s retirement of the EMB-120 Brasilia aircraft, which had previously provided service and was replaced with CRJ-200aircraft in SkyWest’s fleet.

While the runway and connector taxiways were widened and strengthened to accommodate the larger/heavier jet traffic, the existing parallel taxiway, Taxiway A, and commercial aircraft parking apron were not improved due to budgetary and construction period limitations. As such, upon commencement of commercial jet service at CNY, the existing15 year-old pavement’s wear was significantly accelerated by the daily use of aircraft that exceeded the original design. While a future project to replace both pavement areas was programmed for CNY, the project was not scheduled to happen soon enough to address the rapid degradation of the existing pavements.

When the FAA announced the availability of Supplemental AIP funding, our team assisted the Sponsor in applying for the funds, which included close coordination with FAA staff so that they were fully aware of the situation at hand with the existing taxiway and apron. CNY was one of three airports in the State of Utah to receive funding in the second wave of supplemental AIP funding.

The airport received $4.75M in supplemental AIP funding to address the issues on Taxiway A, and received a discretionary grant in the amount of $4.52M to reconstruct the commercial aircraft parking apron. This allowed the airport to bid and complete these projects together, resulting in a quicker and less expensive completion. This project included the full depth reconstruction of the existing asphalt pavement on Taxiway A, and the replacement of the existing asphalt pavement with concrete on the commercial aircraft parking apron.

The project includes extensive phasing to allow for commercial and general aviation aircraft operations throughout the project, with any required runway closures happening at night between scheduled flights. The pavement geometry was altered to comply with current FAA design guidance for C-II sized aircraft, and miscellaneous project elements included safety area grading, stormwater grading and infrastructure, and subsurface drains. This project was complicated by the extremely weak subgrade conditions, which necessitated the use of geosynthetic stabilization fabric and additional subbase course thickness.